Statuette of a stag

In this rare and beautiful bronze statuette of a stag the mane is finely detailed, and it has a dark grey-green patina.

Beneath its erect antlers are recessed eye-sockets, which would once have been filled by some precious or decorative stone. It was found immediately to the north of Brighton by a metal detector enthusiast. Stags have often been represented in European and Asian art, generally appearing as victims, the quarry of huntsmen, or of other animals. In early Britain this stag was probably used as a cult object in a temple. Three legs are damaged.

Provenance

Found to the north of Brighton; sold Christie's, 1985; private overseas collector.

Among a host of Art Funded works at the museum, Walter Richard Sickert's oil painting Brighton Pierrots (1915), part of the Tate Collection, reflects well the local and international significance of the gallery. Sickert watched the eponymous theatre troupe on the Brighton seafront every evening for five weeks, making drawings in preparation for the final work.

The sense of loneliness which pervades the painting is characteristic of Sickert's late work. The effect is amplified by the presence of empty deckchairs, reminding us that the scene was captured during World War I.

Part of the Romano-British collection, the bronze Statuette of a stag dates from the first century AD. A rare piece, it was discovered just north of Brighton by an enthusiast with a metal detector. An Art Fund grant of £7,644 helped to save the sculpture from being exported.